Tuesday, July 03, 2007

This would be the only actual power Bush has over sentences of any kind ("All them words, they trip me up.") And no, it does not mean they carpooled yesterday.

President Bush decided - with complete legal right and no actual thought - to make Scooter Libby's punishment go away. Democrats pounced with good reason, but I'd like to look at this from a different angle.

Let's reduce this scenario: Imagine for a moment a "hypothetical" situation in which my daughter tells one whopper of a serious lie; Mrs. Shambles was asking her about something important, specifically warned her that lying would be an awful offense, and she lied anyway. Appropriate punishment in this case would be, say, 30 days grounded. But the next day, just before she was sent off to her room, I came out and said "No, the punishment was excessive. Why don't you go play with your friends - no grounding - but we'll be keeping an eye on you."

Aside from getting into a heated argument with the Mrs. for undermining our partnership of authority, I'd be undermining the very idea of justice.

Now, expand that to a national - nay, world - stage. Many people have made jokes about the impression our president makes on behalf of us, and this is a prime example. Let's close with the article:

Douglas A. Berman, a law professor at Ohio State University who is an expert on federal criminal sentencing policies, said it is "hypocritical and appalling from a president whose Justice Department is always fighting" attempts by judges and lawmakers to lower the punishment called for under federal sentencing guidelines. Berman said Bush's message amounted to "My friend Scooter shouldn't have to serve 30 months in prison because I don't want him to."